Major League Soccer Weekend: RSL Drawn By Wizards In KC

It was a disappointing debut for Ben Olsen as D.C. United’s interim coach, and as Black and Red United - SB Nation’s D.C. United blog - notes, if it weren’t for some poor marking on one set piece, nothing would have separated the two sides:

The only real difference between the two teams at the end of the night was lazy marking by Branko Boskovic on Chris Tierney’s free kick assist to Pat Phelan. We’re learning more about the Montenegran each week. He was clearly the organizer of United’s attack tonight, but apparently he’s not the greatest at being a focused defender when he needs to be.For a complete report on Saturday’s match in Foxboro, you can visit Black and Red United.

Though the only score that separated Colorado from visiting San Jose was a aberrational own goal, the Rapids got a deserved three points from the Earthquakes on Sunday, controlling the entirety of the match at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park to get their first win since June 5.

Rapids attacker Colin Clark would hit a post in the tenth minute and provide a dangerous cross for Omar Cummings a few minutes later, but Colorado’s pay-off wouldn’t come until the 26th minute when a cross from the right by Cummings was cut-off by San Jose goalkeeper Jon Busch, who misplayed the ball into his own goal from six yards out. The Earthquakes’ goalkeeper, coming off a strong match against Seattle last week, deflect the ball into his own net as he went to one knee to scoop-up the cross, giving the Rapids a shocking 1-0 lead.

New England ran their unbeaten streak to six matches after a 1-0, Saturday win over D.C. United at Gillette Stadium, ruining Ben Olsen’s first match as interim D.C. United coach.

Olsen, appointed coach after the mid-week firing of Curt Onalfo, made few chances to a United team that played New England even throughout most of the first half. Then, poor defending on an otherwise innocuous set piece allowed the Revolution the night’s only goal.

First half goals from Nana Attakora and Chad Barrett combined with another stellar performance from goalkeeper Stefan Frei to earn Toronto FC three points from Chivas USA Saturday at BMO Field. A second-half penalty kick conversation from Giancarlo Maldonado prevented Toronto’s clean sheet on the way to a 2-1 final.

Toronto opened the scoring in the 21st minute when a long throw-in from right back Dan Gargan was put past Dan Kennedy by Nana Attakora, the 21-year-old central defender’s first goal of his MLS career. The score came after Gargan, 15-yards from the by-line, launched the ball into the middle of the area, with Attakora redirecting the ball from near-to-far post, beating an outstretched Kennedy.

SB Nation’s Real Salt Lake blog, RSL Soapbox, kept tabs on Saturday’s match in Kansas City, allow you to review the 1-1 draw:

Real Salt Lake was not able to fully take advantage of Los Angeles’s off break from league action, drawing with Kansas City 1-1 on Saturday on Kansas. The Wizards scored first through Kei Kamara, with RSL quickly equalizing with a Robbie Findley goal in the 33rd minute. The result leaves the defending Major League Soccer champions four points back of the Galaxy for the league and Western Conference lead.

Kamara’s goal came after left wing Ryan Smith beat both Robbie Russell and Ned Gabavoy to get a right-footed cross in from the attack’s left flank, 18 yards from by-line. The ball found the head of the only unmarked man, Kamara having three yards of space between himself and RSL central defender Jamison Olave. Kamara’s header went into the upper-left corner of goal, beating Nick Rimando in the 21st minute for the match’s first goal.

Not every weekend can be an eight-match smorgasbord. A few times each season we have to find our own fun, which isn’t that difficult. For example, Sunday’s match at Toyota Park could feature five designated players. Qwest will host a rematch of last year’s Western Conference semifinals, while for the second week in a row, a playoff contender tries to get three in Commerce City.

But as we approach the last third of the season, these matches are going to be as much about how a team plays as who they play. All points are created equal, but until August starts winding down, the stakes are going to be manageable. Later in the season, when you’re battling for seeds and playoff spots, the bottom line is all that matters. Before those crucial matches of September and October are here, teams need to figure out their capabilities.