It is hot out. Not just because it is August but because the Major League Soccer playoff race is really heating up. All you need to do is take a gander at the league standings right now and you’ll see exactly how close everyone is with one another.
Major League Soccer Week 22: What We Learned
Week 22 saw some amazing goaltending, a revival in Philadelphia and a surprise result in Toronto.
Six teams in the Eastern Conference are in contention today with either six or seven in the Western side (depending on whether or not you believe the Portland Timbers have a shot or not).
The action is getting intense in the Eastern Conference though. After the Columbus Crew, who sit at 37 points on the season, the 2-through-6 spots in the standings are only separated by four points. Two of those teams are tied with 31 points while the other two have 30 a piece. That is close my friends.
The Western Conference isn't nearly as tight but it is still very close. The Los Angeles Galaxy continue to remain on top of things with 48 points, five more than second place FC Dallas. The only teams that seem distant from everything are Chivas USA (30 points) and Portland (26 points.).
In all the race for the post season is an exciting one today.
Opportunities lost in Seattle.
Aside from a missed penalty and a penalty not given late in the match, the Seattle Sounders did themselves no favors this weekend with the draw to Chivas USA. For the most part the Sounders dominated chances and really should have had three points in the bag at home against a Chivas squad that really seems to be playing a bit above their heads right now.
With the word that the Sounders didn’t make a transfer market splash this summer, they’ll have to find some offense somewhere on this current roster. Maybe Sigi Schmid and company have a trade lined up in the league to make up for the lack of movement in the transfer game but either way the offense has to come up to play with the big games still left for this club.
When a draw feels like a loss
When the Philadelphia Union and FC Dallas got together on Saturday, the game had a big-game feel to it. Just too bad the league couldn't squeeze this one to their national TV schedule on short notice with the addition of Freddy Adu (no pun intended on the whole short notice part either there).
This one had it all though. Penalty kicks, a red card and some crazy moments thanks to veteran keeper Kevin Hartman. In the end the draw had to feel like a loss for FC Dallas. Having the lead twice in this game only to drop the points -- both times on penalties -- had to be frustrating for Dallas manager Schellas Hyndman.
Still, Dallas has to feel somewhat good after seeing Hartman make not one but two amazing stops late in the game on the Union’s Danny Mwanga and Keon Daniels. The save on Daniels could easily be one of the top saves of the season.
For the second week in a row, Dallas failed to make up any ground on the LA Galaxy. Just too bad considering the fact that their offense has improved a lot in recent games with the addition of Maicon Santos. Then there is Brek Shea who continues to impress. Hopefully for Hyndman and Dallas fans, that defense will regain it's power.
Much Adu about...well...Adu
Let’s go a head and put it out there, the addition of Freddy Adu should mean good, if not, great things for the Union.
The 22-year-old Adu brought a different spark to the Union on Saturday. While he was slotted in the midfield to start, it was apparently after Peter Nowak just told the kid to go everywhere and make his presence known in the game.
Adu didn’t see his name on the scoresheet but he did get booked midway through the first half. I suppose that is something to go off right?
Now if this Juan Pablo Angel thing becomes true for the Union, look out, this club could easily be a front-runner to come out of the Eastern Conference.
Formation shift allows Toronto to score big win over RSL
If there was one shock from this weekend it could have very well been in the Toronto FC-Real Salt Lake game. Toronto manager Aron Winter decided to shift his formation a bit from his usual 4-3-3 into a 3-4-3 and saw some success with it right away. Torsten Frings was moved into the back with Andy Iro and Richard Eckersley.
But it was Winter's offense that was still showing up. Recent additions like Danny Koevermans and Peri Marosevic continue to work well with one another. But it was rookie Joao Plata's low ball past Nick Rimando that sealed the game for the Reds. Plata drove a hard and low shot far post as Marosevic made a cutting run to distract Rimando for the game's lone goal.
Salt Lake had their moments in this one but credit Winter's formation shift to keep RSL's attack at bay in this one. The four-man midfield and Frings in the defense really shut off the passing lanes from Luis Gil to Fabian Espindola and Alvaro Saborio.
Is Toronto coming around here with wins like this (and draws on the road to Portland and DC)? Maybe, but with all the moves that Winer made this roster still looks and feels like one that is more suited for success next season or even in the CONCACAF Champions League group stage than in the MLS regular season this year. With only eight regular season matches left and their current position in the standings, it will be really hard for the Reds to make up the seven points that they are behind (to the 10th and final playoff spot) in the standings right now.
Kings of the draw do what they do...best?
The Chicago Fire and New York Red Bulls now own a very bad combination, 27 draws between them. That's right, these two clubs combined have 27 draws on the season, nearly a full schedule worth of mediocrity.
Their 2-2 draw on Saturday proved a few things. For one, the Red Bulls can easily score from anywhere with Thierry Henry and others like Joel Lindpere. But it also shows their defense continues to be the biggest issue with this club. Either it's Tim Ream getting burnt, Rafa Marquez showing his age, or just another keeper issue with this club.
As for the Fire they have now tied the league’s all-time record for most draws in a season with 14. Don’t be shocked if that record goes to 18 or 19 by season’s end with the way things go with this club. They’ve also gone nine league games without a win. If they don’t watch out they could end up at the bottom of the league table before long.
Teams quietly getting it done
With other big games and news of the weekend, there were a few results that quietly snuck in. DC United dismantled a weak defense from the Vancouver Whitecaps 4-0, their first home win in a couple months. The Colorado Rapids continued their strong play with a 2-1 win over the San Jose Earthquakes (don't look now but the Rapids sit at 40 points on the year and forth in the standings). Then you have the Houston Dynamo who took a part the Portland Timbers 2-1, thanks to a wonder goal from Adam Moffat.
Then there was the Columbus Crew who had no issues getting by the New England Revolution 3-1, thanks to some solid free kick efforts on the Black-and-Gold. Columbus went down early thanks to a Benny Feilhaber goal but it was the set pieces from the Crew that made a difference in this one. Columbus now sits a little more comfortably atop the Eastern Conference with 37 points, a feat no many would have expected this Crew team to reach at the start of the season.
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