By Ridge Mahoney, Senior Editor

Pat Noonan carries New England past the Metros; the Rapids clinch a playoff spot as John Spencer strikes again; L.A. stumbles to its second home loss; the Crew wins but so does D.C. as the East race gets tighter.

BEST GOALS: Earnie Stewart and D.C. stunned the Quakes in a 2-1 win by scoring in the ninth minute. Marco Etcheverry played a long ball up the left wing that Ronaldo Cerritos ran onto and hit a first-time cross Stewart headed into the net. STAT: United has won its last four home games. FACT: Stewart's goal was his first in MLS.

Pat Noonan teed up the ball and darted past Metros midfielder Ricardo Clark to blast a right-footed winner from the top of the penalty arc as the Revs took a 2-1 win in the Meadowlands. STAT: Noonan has scored the Revs' last three goals in a 2-1 loss to the Quakes last week and the victory over the Metros.

Damani Ralph pounced on a knockdown by Ante Razov to hit a blistering shot for the Fire's first goal in its 2-0 win over the Galaxy at the Home Depot Center. FACT: Chicago joins Colorado as teams that have won in the Galaxy's new home.

BEST SAVE: Tony Meola got down quickly to a low, hard volley along the ground off the foot of John Spencer to stop the shot with his right hand, but Spencer later got the only goal of the game in the 81st minute for a 1-0 Rapids win. STATS: Colorado has won its last six home games in a row and nine of last 11 matches overall. The Wizards haven't won in the last eight games, during which they've been shut out five times.

BEST ASSIST: Brian West lofted a cross from midfield that dropped at the far post for Edson Buddle to hit first-time on the half-volley. It was the winning goal in a 3-2 Columbus victory. STAT: The Crew is unbeaten in its last four games. FACT: For the third straight game Dallas lost after scoring the first goal.

ROOKIES ON TARGET: Nate Jaqua, who was taken before Ralph in the 2003 SuperDraft, got his first professional goal by netting in stoppage time of the Fire's win. Noonan, taken as the No. 9 overall pick, has five goals and six assists to rank second in rookie scoring behind Ralph (11 goals, five assists). Mike Magee of the Metros has six goals and two assists.

GOAL CHASE: With this 12th goal of the season, Spencer ties Razov in that category. They trail only Taylor Twellman of the Revs and Carlos Ruiz of the Galaxy, who have 13 apiece. Preki, the leading scorer with 34 points, and Ralph each have 11 goals.

MLS: Game Summaries (Sept. 13)

Sept. 13 in East Rutherford, N.J.
METROSTARS (9-7-7, 34 pts) 1 NEW ENGLAND (7-9-8, 29 pts) 2.
Goals: Jolley (Pope, Magee) 81; Noonan 11, Noonan (Cancela) 72.
Att.: 14,742.

Sept. 13 in Washington, D.C.
D.C. UNITED (9-8-6, 33 pts) 2 SAN JOSE (12-5-7, 43 pts) 1.
Goals: Stewart (Cerritos, Etcheverry) 9, Olsen 81; Walker (Lagos, Mulrooney) 80.
Att.: 15,502.

Sept. 13 in Columbus
COLUMBUS (8-9-7, 31 pts) 3 DALLAS (4-16-4, 16 pts) 2.
Goals: Buddle (Paule, Martino) 28, McBride (West, Oughton) 39, Buddle (West, Denton) 81; Dunseth (Nhleko 2) 15, Johnson (Deering) 52.
Att.: 16,049.

Sept. 13 in Denver
COLORADO (9-6-7, 34 pts) 1 KANSAS CITY (7-9-8, 29 pts) 0.
Goal: Spencer (Henderson) 83.
Referee: Gus St. Silva.
Att.: 16,937.

Sept. 13 in Carson, Calif.
LOS ANGELES (7-9-8, 29 pts) 0 CHICAGO (12-5-7, 43 pts) 2.
Goals: Ralph (Razov, Gray) 58, Jaqua (Armas) 94+.
Att.: 23,799.