Category: Soccer America Daily

New England’s Michael Parkhurst, 23, was named MLS’s Defender of the Year and the league’s individual Fair Play winner. Parkhurst, whose season included a 60-yard goal [VIDEO] against Toronto on his first attempt at goal in three MLS seasons, committed only five fouls in 25 regular-season games and received no cautions or red cards.

Brian Hall was awarded the OSI Referee of the Year for the fourth time and third consecutive season. He also won the award in 2003. Hall led the voting ahead of Jair Maruffo and Alex Prus for OSI Referee of the Year.

Kansas City Wizards forward Eddie Johnson was named the MLS Comeback Player of the Year. The 23-year-old, already in his seventh MLS season, scored 15 regular season goals and notched six assists in the 2007 regular season after scoring only twice and assisting once in 2006.

David Beckham, who played just 252 in five MLS games, played 83 minutes on Sunday for the Los Angeles Galaxy in a charity game against the celebrity squad Hollywood United FC that raised more than $90,000 for victims of the recent Southern California wildfires. Beckham scored twice and had three assists in his team’s 10-4 win. England coach Steve McClaren attended the game to assess whether the Beckham was fit enough to warrant a return to the national team.

The elimination of Chivas USA, which tied Kansas City, 0-0, at Home Depot Center to lose its series, 1-0 on aggregate, means both regular-season conference champions are out of the playoffs. D.C. United having been ousted by Chicago on Thursday. Second-place finishers Houston – which is aiming to become MLS’s first repeat champ since D.C. United won the league’s first two championships in 1996 and 1997 — and New England advanced by winning their home legs, 4-1 and 1-0, respectively over shorthanded opposition.

The 1-0 first leg may have been decided by a rather fluky goal, but for much of the game FC Dallas bossed the midfield. To overcome that one-goal deficit Houston must take command in the middle third so Dwayne DeRosario can slice forward to take cracks at goal and thread through-balls, and Brian Mullan can provide quality service from the flanks.

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.