Author Archives: Ridge Mahoney

New England hosts New York as the Revs go for their sixth straight appearance in the conference final. The omens are stacked – if such a thing is possible – high against the Red Bulls, who played spiritedly yet somewhat disjointedly last Saturday in the Meadowlands and couldn’t break through against a determined midfield and defense. The Revs are 6-0-3 (14-5 goal differential) in playoff matches at Gillette Stadium since it opened in 2002, and they reached their first final that same season. New York hasn’t won at Gillette in more than five years, a span of 12 regular season and playoff games.

Kansas City finished tied with Chicago for fourth place in the Eastern Conference, and can take heart from what the Fire did against top seed D.C. United,: Win at home, tie on the road, see you in Texas (against either Houston or Dallas). Kansas City takes a slim 1-0 edge to Home Depot Center and faces a Chivas USA whose forward tandem of Ante Razov and Maykel Galindo has been hit by injuries.

In the end, the defensive frailty of D.C. United – not its ouchy attackers – knocked it tumbling out of the playoffs for the third straight season. A pair of preventable goals staked Chicago to a 2-0 lead at RFK Stadium, and a furious D.C. rally tied the game, 2-2, which for the Fire was good enough. A 1-0 win in its home leg Oct. 25 provided a 3-2 aggregate upset of the league’s top team during the regular season.

[PLAYOFF PREVIEW] Halloween has come and gone, thus the curse must be broken. So go the hopes of D.C. United and its perplexed fans, who watched yet another playoff shutout inflicted by the Fire last Thursday, a 1-0 deficit that in normal circumstances scarcely would raise the blood pressure. D.C. scored 56 goals in the regular season and beat Chicago, 3-1, at RFK, June 16, so what’s the problem? Repeat that result and all will be well.

MLS has announced three finalists for each of its end-of-season awards. Juan Pablo Angel, Cuauhtemoc Blanco and Luciano Emilio are the candidates for MLS MVP and the new Newcomer of the Year Award. There’s also Rookie of the Year, Defender of the Year, Goalkeeper of the Year and Coach of the Year honors. Soccer America’s Ridge Mahoney reveals his picks …

Don’t blame the playoff system, or fate, or injuries for the tricky tasks facing the higher seeds in the conference semifinals. Blame the policies of MLS that restrict teams to an 18-man roster and a $2.1 million salary cap despite a burdensome schedule of regular-season, Open Cup, playoffs and international club competitions. With more competitive games come greater chances for injury to attacking players and a commensurate loss of offensive punch.

The three away teams conceded just two goals yet scored none in the conference semifinal first legs played on Saturday. Dallas and Kansas City took narrow 1-0 leads against defending champion Houston and Chivas USA, respectively, and New England heads home after playing a goalless tie with New York.

[MLS PLAYOFF PREVIEW] More than few fans and pundits believe this is the season the Revs finally break their jinx and win the whole thing. They lost the 2006 final on penalties, lost in overtime in 2005, and were also beaten in overtime in 2002 in front of the home crowd. They must be due. Maybe. In their first full season under Coach Bruce Arena, the Red Bulls are far from the finished product. But they are potent going forward and have a lot of big-game experience in Juan Pablo Angel, Dave van den Bergh and Claudio Reyna

[MLS PLAYOFF PREVIEW] The Texas Shootout has been more of a stampede this season, with Dallas avoiding defeat only once by tying Houston, 0-0, at Pizza Hut Park June 30. Houston is deeper than last year’s championship team. The additions of Nate Jaqua, Richard Mulrooney and Joseph Ngwenya brought experience as well as ability.

The Wizards are back in the playoffs three years after finishing runner-up at MLS Cup; among the veterans of that solid team are defenders Jimmy Conrad and Jose Buricaga Jr., midfielders Sasha Victorine and Kerry Zavagnin, and attackers Scott Sealy and Davy Arnaud. They needed a win on the final day of the season to make the playoffs as the No. 8 seed, and as the fifth-placed team in the Eastern Conference are matched against the Western Conference champion on the other side of the bracket. First-year head coach Preki has upgraded Chivas USA from good to borderline excellent by incorporating a more direct, yet skillful, style of play.

Every team, even the most successful one in MLS history, has to have a bogey opponent, that nettlesome foe always capable of inflicting a painful result no matter what the setting or situation. Four-time league champion D.C. United opens its quest for a fifth title on Thursday against Chicago, a team it has never beaten or scored against in the postseason.

Outscored by Chicago 10-0 in five postseason meetings, of which it has lost four and tied one, United’s players must wash away memories of 2003 and 2005. (Of the current squad, only Ben Olsen and Jaime Moreno played in the 1998 MLS Cup that D.C. lost to Chicago, 2-0, in the Rose Bowl.

[VIDEO] Houston is awaiting word from the league office regarding its appeal of the nine-game suspension meted out to midfielder Ricardo Clark for kicking Carlos Ruiz as he lay on the ground in a Sept. 30 match. Commissioner Don Garber reviewed numerous incidents, including the six-game suspensions handed out to Thomas Ravelli in 1998, Andy Herron in 2005, and Dario Sala last year in making his decision.

The MLS playoff field is set after the Galaxy’s gallant quest falls short in Chicago; Kansas City finally gets it done in Dallas; Chivas thwarts Houston to win the Western Conference; and Colorado surrenders the Rocky Mountain Cup at home. Columbus and Toronto finish with encouraging results against D.C. United and New England, respectively. Soccer America’s Ridge Mahoney looks at how the 2007 regular season wrapped up. …

The introduction of David Beckham midway through the second half sent a jolt of excitement through the crowd at Home Depot Center, but while he bent a few corners and sprayed some nice balls, still the Galaxy and Red Bull New York remained tied, 1-1. Goals less than a minute apart from Troy Roberts and Jozy Altidore early in the match stood up for the remaining 75 minutes. The tie left the Galaxy needing a win Sunday against Chicago and a few breaks to reach the playoffs.

[TV PREVIEWs] Colorado, Kansas City, Chicago and Los Angeles are vying for the two remaining playoff spots, and the top two teams in the Eastern Conference, D.C. United and New England, finish the regular season on the road. Soccer America’s Ridge Mahoney previews this weekend’s action …

The teams that had to win to stay alive in the playoff hunt did, but for the Crew, beating the Revs, 3-2, wasn’t enough because the Fire picked up a precious point by tying D.C., 0-0. Three games finished 2-1: Colorado staved off elimination by ending Chivas USA’s home unbeaten record; Los Angeles downed 10-man Toronto for its fifth straight win; and New York blasted another hole into Kansas City’s sinking ship. Ridge Mahoney explains the playoff picture and recaps the all the weekend’s MLA action …

[TV PREVIEW] Houston has two road games to make up the four points separating it from Western Conference leader Chivas USA, which opened the door a crack by losing its first home game of the season Sunday to Colorado, 2-1. Houston’s final home game of the season is this Sunday against Chivas USA at Home Depot Center. If the conference crown is to be doubt until then, the Dynamo need at least a point against Real Salt Lake on Monday.

[MLS WEEKEND PREVIEWS] Colorado, Columbus and Los Angeles must win to keep their playoff hopes alive, Kansas City can clinch a postseason spot by beating New York, and Chicago will greatly enhance its playoff chances with a victory on the penultimate weekend of the MLS regular season. Chivas can clinch the Western Conference crown by beating the Rapids on Sunday.

Two teams bidding to be the Western Conference representative in MLS Cup 2007 squared off Thursday night at Pizza Hut Park, and only one of them looked the part. Backed by a bewigged home crowd honoring the do and daring of Juan Toja, FC Dallas (13-11-5) threw what it had at Chivas USA but could do no better than a 0-0 tie.

[MLS TV PREVIEW] These Western Conference foes haven’t played since the Fourth of July, when a 2-0 Dallas victory over Chivas USA at Pizza Hut Park reversed a loss by the same score in late May at Home Depot Center. Since that last meeting, Brazilians Denilson and Ricardinho have relocated in Texas, a player has been traded from one team to the other, Carlos Ruiz has picked up a suspension that rules him out of Thursday’s game, Dallas has clinched a playoff spot, and Chivas USA has climbed up the overall standings to challenge for the league’s best record.

[MLS PLAYOFF PICTURE] Three days after failing to clinch a playoff spot – again — New York snuck into the postseason thanks to other results going in its favor. The Red Bulls lost to Toronto, 2-1, last Thursday, which left their record at 11-11-6 and 39 points. When Columbus lost to FC Dallas, 3-1, on Saturday, it lost any chance to catch New York. Colorado won, but is seven points behind New York with two games to play.

Galaxy midfielder Cobi Jones isn’t the only MLS original reconsidering his announcement to retire. Chris Armas, a former teammate of Jones in Los Angeles, has played the last 10 seasons with Chicago and might try to squeeze out one more. Maybe.