Author Archives: Ridge Mahoney

Eddie Johnson downed New York with his second consecutive hat trick, Houston rallied to take the Texas shootout against Dallas, Chicago stopped a five-game winless skid by beating Columbus, and the cross-country clasico between D.C. and LA ended goalless. Ridge Mahoney recaps all this weekend’s MLS action …

[TV PREVIEW] An clash of two of the Eastern Conference leaders and a Texas showdown in the West highlight the ninth week of MLS play. A few teams have already lost players to international duty and many more will join the U.S. team on Monday, so this will be the last chance for coaches to field their strongest squads for quite a while.

[VIDEO] MLS can be justly criticized for several facets of its play, and the current goalscoring rate of 2.55 goals per game isn’t spectacular, yet more than a few of the goals have been just that. Each of the five nominees for Goal of the Week last week deserved high praise: Toronto midfielder Jim Brennan belted a 35-yarder to take the prize, yet it only edged out Maykel Galindo‘s 30-yard smash after bouncing up from a midfield tackle and a great free kick by Christian Gomez.

Soccer America’s Ridge Mahoney provides the latest on efforts to bring back the Earthquakes and the Chicago Fire’s courtship with Chilean legend Marcelo Salas …

Eddie Johnson led the Wizards back from a 2-0 deficit with a hat trick to beat the Revs, 4-3. Toronto FC earned its first road goals and initial road point of the season by tying the Crew, 2-2. Reigning league MVP Christian Gomez awoke to lead D.C. United past Houston, 2-1, with a goal and an assist. Chivas USA strikers Maykel Galindo and Ante Razov each netted once to down FC Dallas, 2-0. Colorado took advantage of a Kyle Martino ejection to edge the Galaxy, 1-0. The Fire halted its four-game losing streak but did little else by lurching to a 0-0 home tie against Real Salt Lake. Soccer America’s Ridge Mahoney recaps all the Memorial Day weekend MLS action …

Fire fans who believed their team had already hit rock-bottom were proved wrong Thursday night. Chicago conceded two goals in the first three minutes to the New York Red Bulls (5-1-2) in a 3-0 defeat. After opening the season with a four-game unbeaten streak, Chicago (3-4-1) has dropped four straight.

[TV PREVIEW]. One game this weekend features a clash between to teams with winning records: New England vs. Kansas City. Columbus hopes to recover from a rout when it hosts Toronto, which now has high-scoring Jeff Cunningham. Slow-starting D.C. United and Houston, preseason favorites to MLS Cup, meet in D.C., each with losing records so far. Los Angeles, still in its pre-Beckham phase of the season, looks for its second win in Colorado. Chivas USA hosts FC Dallas. Winless Real Salt Lake meets a Chicago team that has lost four straight. Ridge Mahoney previews all of this weekend’s MLS action:

Not all great goalscorers, or great players, think alike. Real Salt Lake has sent striker Jeff Cunningham to Toronto in exchange for Alecko Eskandarian and TFC’s first-round 2008 SuperDraft pick. Despite scoring 94 goals in his MLS career, Cunningham has bounced among several clubs, and his quirky personality doesn’t mesh well with that of Coach Jason Kreis, who has not wavered from the no-nonsense approach that enabled him to set a league record – since tied by Jaime Moreno – of 108 goals. Let’s just say Kreis didn’t ask to wear No. 108 on his jersey this season before deciding to retire and take over as head coach.

Cunningham’s jersey number last year (76) and this season (90) refer to his goalscoring totals. (He’s netted four this year).

Despite posting a 31-17-16 regular-season record in 2005 and 2006 while playing the most skillful soccer in MLS, United hasn’t returned to MLS Cup. United 2007 again features a glittering array of attackers – Christian Gomez, Jaime Moreno, Fred, Luciano Emilio – yet last Saturday it beat Toronto, 2-1, with the bedrock basics it had drifted away from: hard tackles, tenacious defending, fierce marking.

[VIDEO] Defending champion Houston suffered through another shutout defeat as the Revs prevailed on a Shalrie Joseph goal. Juan Pablo Angel got his first MLS points in a Red Bull rout. FC Dallas extended its Western Conference lead by downing Real Salt Lake, for which Freddy Adu got his first goal. The clasico in Southern California featured a Landon Donovan goal. Jaime Moreno scored a milestone goal for D.C. United in Toronto. Colorado’s not doing it in its new home. Soccer America’s Ridge Mahoney recaps the weekend’s action

[TV PREVIEW] This is by far the most contentious weekend of league play to date. Six games in two days through which answers regarding many MLS teams will be provided. Among the clashes: D.C. United looking for only its second win of the season when it faces rising Toronto; a rematch of last year’s final; the season’s second Chivas USA-Los Angeles clasico. Soccer America’s Ridge Mahoney previews all the action.

[TV PREVIEW] Let’s hope the Brimstone Cup rivalry livens up the ESPN2 national telecast more than the Rocky Mountain Séance between Colorado and Real Salt Lake, a 1-1 tie with no cautions and just about as much passion, did last week. Chances are, it will. Both FC Dallas-Chicago meetings last year were 3-2 thrillers, with FC Dallas winning both of them. The Fire has been beaten in its last two, 3-1, on the road, and is back at Toyota Park, where it has won both of its home games. Last year, though, it lost at home to Dallas.

The makeover of MLS’s Los Angeles Galaxy, which Coach Frank Yallop began nearly a year ago when he replaced Steve Sampson, continues with one of the more exotic signings in league history. Portuguese defender Abel Xavier, whose dyed-blond beard and curly hair once earned him the nickname ‘King Neptune’ has joined the Galaxy after being released by English Premier League club Middlesbrough. He will be eligible to play once the U.S. secondary transfer window opens June 15.

[MLS VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS] Early goals livened up MLS play as Toronto FC broke onto the scoresheet and into the win column with a 3-1 victory over Chicago. Landon Donovan (two assists) and Taylor Twellman (two goals) slugged it out at Home Depot Center, but TT’s supporting cast overran that of LD as the New England rallied twice to pull out a 3-2 win over Los Angeles. Colorado spoiled the debut of Juan Pablo Angel by beating the Red Bulls, 1-0, and dumping them from the unbeaten ranks. FC Dallas went to Kansas City, where it hadn’t won since 1998, and beat the Wizards, 2-1, with goals by Kenny Cooper and Juan Toja.

[TV PREVIEW] The goal watch in Toronto continues as the Fire goes north of the border. Expected to make their MLS debuts are Pablo Richetti for FC Dallas in Kansas City and Juan Pablo Angel for the New York Red Bulls hosts Colorado. Alejandro Moreno reunites with Sigi Schmid. What’s up with Carlos Ruiz? Soccer America’s Ridge Mahoney previews all of the weekend’s MLS action.

Well, Freddy Adu used his touches well, but Nicolas Hernandez and Jeff Cunningham usually didn’t, and Atiba Harris treated the ball as he would a bucket of snakes: avoid it if at all possible.