Tag: mls

By tried-and-true methods — efficiency on set plays and the unerring daring of Dwayne DeRosario – Houston duly returned to the MLS Cup by beating Kansas City, 2-0, Saturday. But those elements are only part of a formula that for the past two seasons has proven tough to break down even under pressure. Nate Jaqua powered home a Richard Mulrooney corner kick late in the first half to break open a goalless game and DeRosario drilled a low shot with nine minutes left for the clinching goal as Houston won its fifth postseason match (out of seven) since the franchise moved from San Jose in December, 2005.

[VIDEO] Dutchman Ruud Gullit, the Los Angeles Galaxy’s new coach, had a playing career unmatched by any coach who has ever headed an MLS team.

[MLS PLAYOFF PREVIEW] Defending champion Houston, which also won titles in 2003 and 2005 as the San Earthquakes, battle the Kansas City Wizards in Texas on Saturday for a spot in MLS Cup 2007. Soccer America’s Ridge Mahoney previews the match-up. …

If all 1-0 games featured the teams sharing 36 shots equally, dozens of crunching tackles, and a moment of flair a la Taylor Twellman on a chilly Thursday night, so much more popular in America MLS might be.

[MLS SEMIFINAL PREVIEW] In the 12-year history of the MLS playoffs, many higher-seeded teams have been bumped off at home by lower seeds. But not the New England Revolution. It is unbeaten at home in the playoffs. Its 8-0-4 record includes a perfect 5-0 mark against the Chicago Fire in 2000, 2002, 2003, and 2006. It also beat the Fire, 3-1, in their regular-season meeting at Gillette Stadium in May. On Thursday, New England hosts Chicago. The winner goes to MLS Cup 2007.

A Vancouver crowd of 48,172 watched the MLS’s Los Angeles Galaxy and the USL’s Vancouver Whitecaps play to a 0-0 tie at B.C. Place on Wednesday night. David Beckham played the first 72 minutes and was cheered on each touch by the crowd, which also erupted in cheers when a naked man jumped onto the field and scrambled around until he was tackled by security personnel.

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.

There’s been nothing but stony silence from MLS headquarters regarding the recent carnival acts in New Jersey and Los Angeles, and for this Commissioner Don Garber and his fellow executives should be commended.

After all, what can be said about dysfunctional organizations in the league’s two biggest — and by many standards, most important — markets? In the space of 24 hours, they’ve jettisoned the only two coaches with national-team experience who’ve won two league titles in their first three seasons. Bruce Arena lasted 16 months, Frank Yallop survived slightly longer, 17 months.

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.

Chicago Fire midfielder Diego Gutierrez has been voted the 2007 U.S. Soccer Foundation-MLS W.O.R.K.S. Humanitarian of the Year. Gutierrez, 34, supports more than half-a-dozen organizations on a national, regional, and local level and has helped raise more than $1 million collectively for worthy causes in 2007. Gutierrez an active role in the fight against malaria, serving as a national spokesperson for the Nothing But Nets campaign.

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.

[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 …