By Ridge Mahoney
GALAXY GUT CHECK. The defending champions preserved their playoff hopes Saturday by knocking off tenants Chivas USA, 3-0. Still, they are two games under .500 (they finished 13-13-6 last year, by the way) heading into a tough away-and-home duet with Dallas. The Texas leg is Saturday, where LA lost, 1-0, May 10 to a Carlos Ruiz goal. Last year’s title run had “fluke” written all over it, although the Galaxy knocked off San Jose, Colorado and New England in must-win games. Well, crunch time is back, and if Landon Donovan conjures up those rare yet remarkable moments of magic and his supporting cast answers the bell, LA will somehow squeeze out a postseason berth. Neither team is in good form; both are 2-3-1 in their last six games. The Galaxy has the hunger; does it have the will? (TV: HDNet, Saturday, live, 8:30 pm ET)
WIZARDS WELCOME CHIVAS. The desperation factor may also work in favor of Kansas City, which is deadlocked with Red Bull New York in fourth place in the East. Also, the Wizards would like to make up for the victory they squandered last week by conceding a late equalizer to Real Salt Lake in a 3-3 tie. Eddie Johnston may have sufficiently recovered from his hamstring problems to get considerable playing time. He’s looked eager and energetic in practice this week. Chivas USA, third in the West, has yet to clinch and needs points as well. Six players, including Carlos Llamosa and Francisco Palencia are out with injuries; Ante Razov is questionable, and Juan Pablo Garcia probable because of adductor strains. Both players have trained this week. (TV: Direct Kick, Saturday, live, 8:30 pm ET)
REVS GO TO RFK. New England hasn’t been beaten in its last five games (3-0-2) but it hasn’t beaten D.C. United in three meetings this year. The Revs have sharpened their game in the past few weeks, while D.C. has struggled through listless spells since clinching the division title. Pat Noonan misses this game to undergo sports hernia surgery and D.C. coach Peter Nowak has not announced whether he’ll rest Jaime Moreno for this game. Neither team needs a three-pointer — nor injuries for that matter — but neither coach is excessively tolerant of disinterested play. And by acquiring Mexican striker Jose Manuel Abundis, who scored his first MLS goal last week, Revs coach Steve Nicol has added a bit more punch to his attack. (TV: Direct Kick, Saturday, live, 7:30 pm ET)
INVESCO FAREWELL. The Rapids play Red Bull New York in the final regular-season game at Invesco Field; their new stadium in Commerce City will open next year. Red Bull has only one road win this season. The Rapids return home after stumbling to a 0-0 tie and a pair of losses on the road. At home, they are one of the league’s best teams at 9-3-3 although their overall goal difference is a putrid minus-13. When the teams met in the Meadowlands July 14, Amado Guevara tormented the Rapids’ defense and scored the game’s only goal on a penalty kick. (TV: Direct Kick, Saturday, live, 9 pm ET)
CREW CALL. Columbus is out of the playoff picture but in the last two weeks the Crew has tied Houston and thumped Dallas. Against Chicago, it has tied twice and lost once. The Fire leads the Revs by only two points in the race for second place and homefield advantage after losing to the Red Bulls, 1-0, last week. The Fire, drained by a strong effort that downed the Galaxy, 3-0, in the U.S. Open Cup final, mustered just four shots against RBNY. Chicago has been tough, however, at Toyota Park, where it is unbeaten in its last five league games. Despite scoring three goals last week, the Crew is still in danger of setting a league mark for fewest goals in a season. With 26, the Crew is three shy of the 29 scored (in 30 games) by Colorado in 2004. (TV: Fox Soccer Channel & Direct Kick, Saturday, live, 8:30 pm ET)
REAL DEAL. Houston travels to Salt Lake City with a slim chance of overtaking Dallas to win the conference title. Trailing by five points, the Dynamo needs to win both of its last two games and hope FC Dallas gets no more than a point. Houston holds the tiebreaker edge if the teams tie on points. Houston comes into the RSL match after a hard-fought 1-0 victory over D.C. United last weekend but that was only its third win in the last 10 league matches, during which it’s scored just 11 goals. Real opened the season 0-5-1 but in its last 10 games is 5-3-2 and trails fourth-place Colorado by two points. Against Houston, it lost the first two meetings by 2-1 scores but drilled the Dynamo, 3-1, Aug. 19 at Rice-Eccles with a goal and two assists by Jeff Cunningham, who has scored only two goals since. This vital game is one of many during the past two months that is not being televised anywhere.