David Agrell
After last week's goalfest, I suppose a slate of cagey and conservative games was to be expected this weekend. Not a lot of goals, but there was still some entertaining soccer. The highlight was seeing Kei Kamara tally that late equalizer for KC. It was almost an exact situation to the miss that made him a worldwide phenom couple of weeks back, only this time he nailed it—and had fun in the process, scuttling up to the ball and taking a deep breath before finishing. A great response and a well-deserved point for the Wizards.
Kristel Valencia
The Crew demonstrated tonight what impeccable defensive work really means for a team that wants to keep an unbeaten streak going. Not only did Chad Marshall, Frankie Hedjuk, Eric Bruner and Gino Padula put in tremendous work to block all the efforts of Chivas USA’s attacking elements, but the midfield tandem of Brian Carroll and Adam Moffat enjoyed the recovery and ball possession essential to lock down all of Chivas’ offensive intentions.
Kudos to “San Padula” who made the two most important saves of the night. In the 58th minute, he cleared Bornstein’s shot off the goal line, and then he headed a ball away from the goal line on a shot by Blair Gavin.
¡Me le saco el sombrero a la Pandilla de Ohio!
Simon Borg
On a weekend during which every MLS stadium featured the center field board “The Game Is In Us,” in honor of the USA’s World Cup bid, the statement might not be all that true in Seattle. Sigi Schmid, in fact, willfully decided to shut down the league’s most sublime soccer talent for 78 minutes on Saturday, opting for the work rate of midfielder Brad Evans as a converted forward over Fredy Montero.
It was another episode that fuels the perception that MLS is a league where talents who don’t hustle have no future. Montero is surely a maddening player, who can make a team feel it is playing with 10 men, only for him to produce one world-class goal after another. Maybe Schmid will take the credit for how he successfully managed and motivated Montero. Or maybe the Colombian’s game-winner will be a chastising strike directed at every coach who ever decides to sit him or anyone like him again.
Greg Lalas
Wow, did Curt Onalfo look like a defeated man in his postgame press conference—both literally and figuratively. Tie askew, eyes searching for answers, sighs audible through the mike. He doesn’t deserve this. His side doesn’t have the necessary talent, depleted by departures, injuries and simple poor form. Where’s the magic? That United mystique? The lack of flair, sad to say, is as disappointing to any long-term MLS observer as the seven defeats in eight games.
Jaime Uribarri
What is it with teams’ deciding to give up on offense after taking a 1-0 advantage? While Dallas may have tried to double their lead over Philadelphia after Brek Shea’s beauty of a strike in the 13th minute, they basically renounced attacking after halftime.
Content with his team’s slim margin and Kevin Hartman's highlight-reel performance in goal, Hyndman decided to substitute Jeff Cunningham for defender Marvin Chavez with a half hour left to play, a clear indication of his lack of ambition and unwillingness to put the game out of reach.
Who couldn’t predict that Philly would tie it up? The only surprise was that it came from Danny Mwanga. This was Dallas’ 5th tie of the season. It serves you right, Schellas.
Jonah Freedman
Yes, we sat through 400 combined minutes or so of scoreless soccer on Saturday night. But though the goals weren't fast and furious, the fallout is very significant, especially from a couple of the matches. Seattle's last-gasp victory over New York put the Red Bulls on their first losing streak of the season and allowed still-unbeaten Columbus to creep within a point of the Eastern Conference lead. That sets up a huge matchup on Thursday at Red Bull Arena with the yellow-hot Crew hungry to show they're the best team in MLS.
Meanwhile, out west, Toronto's heroic point in LA may make the Galaxy sweat more than they'd prefer. They couldn't manage a single goal with Landon Donovan and Edson Buddle in the lineup. What will they do without them? Both leave for World Cup duty for perhaps a month, and LA haven't found a consistent scorer or service-provider outside their power duo. Yes, the Galaxy are still 10 points ahead in the West. But that's probably a good thing. Following Thursday's tilt at FC Dallas, LA get a triple-shot of Columbus, Houston and RSL in three straight games before Buddle and Donovan return home at the very earliest. Will they stay hot? Or will the power outage let the rest of the conference catch up? Game on, baby.
Fidencio Enriquez
Two thoughts: First, “lazy defending,” as Chivas USA head coach Martín Vásquez put it, isn’t the reason why Columbus beat his team with a last-minute PK. It was lazy attacking—failure to put away their chances—that cost them the game.
Second, the fact that Edson Buddle didn’t score in his last game before heading for USA’s training camp further convinced me that he’s not really the man to replace Charlie Davies. Bob Bradley will undoubtedly have a tough time choosing Jozy Altidore’s strike partner unless someone makes a statement before the final list is due.
