For whatever reason, the Columbus Crew and Houston Dynamo have not really received the praise they are probably due. Maybe it was that neither entered the season with particularly high expectations outside their own organizations, and followed that up with Week 1 losses. Maybe it's the lack of marquee names on either roster. Maybe it's because they weren't really blowing the doors off anyone. With both teams now riding six-match unbeaten streaks -- tied with the Seattle Sounders for the longest active streaks in MLS -- that stretch back to those first week losses, they are becoming impossible to ignore.
MLS Week 7 Review: Houston Dynamo, Columbus Crew Deserve Praise
The Dynamo turned in the more impressive performance of the two this week, thumping quickly fading DC United 4-1 on Friday. Will Bruin netted a hat trick for the Dynamo -- breaking out one of the odder celebration dances along the way -- and Tally Hall continued to show that he is one of the better young goalkeepers in the league. Hall has not allowed more than one goal in a match all season and has made the third most saves in the league, while Bruin is now the league's second-leading goal scorer.
What's really impressive about the Dynamo's start is that even looking beyond the point total and the unbeaten run, there's a lot to like. They have been without forward Brian Ching and center back Jermaine Taylor -- both presumably starters if they were healthy -- and have already used six players who had never appeared in a MLS game before this season. Brad Davis has been deadly on set-pieces and accurate on crosses, already racking up a league-leading six assists, and Geoff Cameron appears to be developing into the player many have long expected him to be. Now, they are picking up the services of Sergio Koke, who should add another dimension to their offense.
From a statistical standpoint, the Dynamo look just about as strong as anyone. They have a +5 goal difference, third best in the league, and a +17 shots difference, fifth best in the league. More importantly, they currently have the third best points per match (1.71).
The Crew have built their run almost entirely on defense. Their 2-1 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday marked just the second time they've scored more than one goal in a match this season -- and both times they did that one of the goals came on a penalty. But they've only given up a total of two goals during their unbeaten run and have largely limited their opponents chances. Only the New York Red Bulls are allowing fewer shots per game than the Crew's 9.57.
This performance has come despite significant offseason turnover that is especially evident on the backline where three of the four regular starters were not with the Crew last year and two of them were not even in the league. Of the newcomers, rookie Rich Balchan has been the biggest surprise. The No. 12 overall pick in the 2011 SuperDraft has stepped right in and been a solid contributor as the left back allowing Robbie Rodgers the freedom to focus on the offensive side of the field. Fitting the narrative almost perfectly, Balchan actually missed this week’s game with illness, but another Crew newcomer, Josh Gardner, started in his place and made a game-saving stop of a point-blank shot attempt that would have tied the score.
It’s a little harder for me to see the Crew keeping this up, but as long as they keep piling up results, they need to be taken seriously.
RSL Crashes Back To Earth
It was a tough week for Real Salt Lake. Not only did they lose the CONCACAF Champions League final, despite entering the home leg tied on aggregate and riding a 37-match home unbeaten streak, but they also lost for the first time during the MLS season. The 1-0 loss also ended their 18-match MLS unbeaten run, which left them one short of tying the record FC Dallas set last season.
Neither of these losses should probably change our perceptions of the Lions considerably, but it does chip away at the almost unbeatable mythos that was building around them. Of course, no one honestly expected RSL to go unbeaten throughout the season. That doesn’t mean some of those of us in the punditry were well on our way to proclaiming RSL to be almost in a league unto themselves, as they’d no doubt cruise into the franchise’s first Supporters’ Shield and become the first team to contend for “the Quad,” which of course would mean they’d also become the first to treble. With their CCL run done for at least another year -- they didn’t qualify for this year’s tournament -- we can stop talking about “The Quad” for the foreseeable future and that run at a treble seems a little less assured.
I think we can still say RSL is the odd's on favorite to win any of the remaining three trophies, but as we saw against the Timbers, they are not the unbeatables that some of us had made them out to. The Lions did not look bad in their first regular season loss since the middle of last year, but they lacked that little something that has pushed them to the heights at which they once resided. Several quality chances went wanting and the goal they allowed looked like Kenny Cooper got lost in the heap of bodies in front of the goal.
On the flip side, the Timbers continue to make it clear that they really are two different teams at home and away. They are now a perfect 3-0-0 at Jeld-Wen Field, outscoring their opponents 8-4. On the road, they have just one point in four matches and have been outscored 9-2. It would appear they are literally capable of beating anyone at home and losing to anyone on the road.
Steve Zakuani Tribute
Say what you will about Seattle Sounders fans, but they put on quite a display Saturday when they paid tribute to Steve Zakuani, who is probably out for the year after having his leg broken. From the 11:00-mark to 11:59, nearly every one of the 36,000-plus fans in attendance at Saturday’s match held up No. 11 placards and chanted Zakuani’s name. As someone who was in the crowd, I can tell you that it was a pretty powerful experience and one the players and coaches said they really appreciated.
Of course, it should also be mentioned that the Sounders beat Toronto FC 3-0 to run their unbeaten streak to six matches, which has come on the heels of a 0-0-2 start. While this win came against an obviously reeling TFC side that is now in the midst of a six-match winless streak, it was an important win for the Sounders, who not only lost Zakuani this week, but also learned that forward O'Brian White could be out for an extended period of time as well. Just for good measure, Mauro Rosales was also held out as a precaution.
On Saturday, at least, they looked like a team that has the depth to overcome those losses, as Brad Evans scored a pair of goals and added an assist, Alvaro Fernandez scored his second goal in three matches and Fredy Montero had a point in his third straight game.
Red Bulls Continue To Rampage
Well, that's a little overstating their 1-0 win over Sporting Kansas City in which they missed a penalty and their one goal came on a clearly offsides play, but the Red Bulls have now allowed just two goals all season and have outscored their last three opponents 8-0. They may not have exactly caught RSL, but the gap has clearly shrank.
Union Keep Finding Ways
Whether the fact that they converted penalty they earned was justified or not, the Philadelphia Union deserve heaps of credit for pulling out a victory despite being down a man for the bulk of their 1-0 win over the San Jose Earthquakes. The unjust penalty seems to have been a make-up for their own unjust red card, but either way they dominated an Earthquakes team that has clearly lost its way on offense. I'm still rather concerned with the Union's inability to score goals, although it rather seems like nitpicking as they now have four shutouts in six matches.
Goal Of The Week
Beating the Los Angeles Galaxy is always a notable feat. Doing it in the fashion that Brek Shea did for FC Dallas in Sunday’s 2-1 victory is even more impressive. The Toros midfielder was streaking down the left side and sent what looked like a cross toward the box. Instead, it curled inside the far post and beat Galaxy goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts. Shea, predictably, said that was his intention all along.
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