Tag: mls

A head-to-head matchup of how well D.C. United and Houston have recovered from their early-season struggles will have to wait. They managed to play just 15 minutes Wednesday at RFK Stadium before heavy rain and lightning forced referee Ricardo Salazar to wave the teams off the field, which had been saturated in the past 24 hours by a series of thunderstorms. By the time play was suspended at 8:02 p.m. ET, large puddles had formed on many parts of the field and every kick of the ball sent water spraying as players slipped and slid.

Rookie defender Pat Phelan is on his way to New England as the Revs beef up their back line.

MLS is not disclosing the terms on 18-year-old forward Jozy Altidore‘s move from the New York Red Bulls to Spanish club Villarreal, but media reports from both sides of the Atlantic are reporting that the transfer fee may hit the $10 million mark.

Houston was last year’s champion. D.C. United, had the best regular-season record in 2007. But going into their Wednesday evening clash, each has only three wins from its first 11 games. For all of this week’s MLS action on television, standings and leading scorers. …

[MLS/VIDEO] MLS has suspended Houston Dynamo defender Eddie Robinson one game and fined him $500 for retaliatory actions against FC Dallas midfielder Andre Rocha May 29. That’s on top of the automatic one-game suspension and $250 fine for the red card Robinson received in the game.

Last season’s worst team, Tornoto FC, inched up the East standings thanks to a win over Los Angeles. For the up-to-date MLS standings and leading scorers, all the weekend summaries and this week’s schedule. …

[NAMES & NUMBERS] The Colorado Rapids moved into first place of the West with a win over FC Dallas while the Los Angeles Galaxy fell in Toronto, where its enthusiastic fan support is enjoying a six-game home unbeaten streak. Chivas USA’s win over Columbus included a bloody red-card foul by Crew midfielder Danny O’Rourke while Crew coach Sigi Schmid complained about how his top striker has been beaten on. For the weekend’s MLS highlights. …

West leader Los Angeles travels to Toronto FC, whose six-game undefeated streak ended last Saturday against D.C. United. … New York, hoping to shake off last Sunday’s 5-1 loss to Chicago, travels to Houston, which tied FC Dallas, 2-2 on Wednesday. … San Jose has a chance to get out of the West cellar when it plays at Real Salt Lake. … Chivas USA, on a two-game win streak, hosts Columbus, whose six-game unbeaten run ended last week against the Revs. … On Sunday, Colorado aims to beat FC Dallas for the first time since 2004. … For all of this week’s MLS action on television …

Who says draws are dull? For the second straight night, conference rivals served up entertaining four-goal fare. Following Houston’s last-gasp equalizer that earned it a 2-2 tie in Dallas on Wednesday, D.C. United jumped out to a 2-0 lead at Gillette Stadium Thursday but the Revs (6-3-2, 20 points) battled back to gain a point and take over first place in the East, although they have played two more games than Chicago and Columbus, which are a point back in second place.

[MLS] When the two MLS Texas rivals get together, “there’s goals in them there games!”

Can the formula for success be as simple as shut out Robbie Rogers, and you shut out the Crew?

[AMERICANS ABROAD/VIDEO] Santos’ 21-year-old Edgar Castillo was credited for playing a key role in stifling Necaxa’s attacks and came close to scoring during a 1-1 tie in the second leg of the quarterfinals that sent Santos through to the Mexican league semifinals, 3-2, on aggregate. MLS veteran Daniel Hernandez was one of four Chiapas players red-carded in stoppage time of its 2-1 loss to Cruz Azul, which advanced because of a better regular-season record after the quarterfinal series ended tied, 2-2, on aggregate.

[MLS] Jason Kreis‘ largely unfounded tirade against MLS referees in a Deseret Morning News article has cost the Real Salt Lake coach a $1,000 fine and a one-game suspension.

[MLS/VIDEO] The momentum and the misery continued for Chicago and D.C. United, respectively, Thursday night at RFK Stadium in a game that included a brilliant long-range goal from the Fire’s Cuauhtemoc Blanco.

[MLS] Seattle Sounders FC, which begins MLS play in 2009, made its first player signing. Coming on board is French forward Sebastien Le Toux, who currently plays for USL-1 defending champion Seattle Sounders.

[MLS] A week ago, Chivas USA forward Alecko Eskandarian came back from Germany. Next week, FC Dallas midfielder Dax McCarty will head over. With luck, both of them will be training and playing full-time within a few weeks following examinations by noted German surgeon Dr. Ulrike Muschaweck, whose proficiency in treating sports hernias affects athletes of different sports all over the world.

Shifting to a three-man back line is the most visible difference between last year and this year for FC Dallas, yet another, more subtle change may have even greater long-term effects. A flank midfielder for most of his five-year pro career, Arturo Alvarez is playing up top for FC Dallas as a speedy, raiding foil for the burly Kenny Cooper and attacking midfielder Juan Toja.

[REF WATCH/VIDEO] A blatantly blown offside call in a 2-2 tie with the Galaxy last Saturday that cost Real Salt Lake a goal triggered a riposte from Coach Jason Kreis regarding officiating decisions that had gone against his team.Without passing judgment on Kreis’s timing or rhetoric, examining a few of the incidents and decisions reveals how a simple case of inadequate positioning can lead to a bad call, and how coaches and players may not be aware of instructions by which officials are directed to interpret certain situations.

The most recognized and most successful team in Major League Soccer has joined the ranks of the sponsored jersey. Commissioner Don Garber is in Washington, D.C., Tuesday for the formal announcement of a front-jersey sponsorship deal for D.C. United. Volkswagen will pay United between $3.1 million and $3.7 million per year for the next four years to display its logo on the front of the D.C. jersey, which will otherwise remain essentially the same, with the D.C. United crest and four stars – representing its four MLS titles – remaining. Soccer America’s Ridge Mahoney provides the details on shirt sponsorship income around the league.

[NAMES & NUMBERS/VIDEO] David Beckham led the Los Angeles Galaxy’s comeback in Salt Lake. D.C. United got stung by former players in Colorado. Columbus continued its strong start. Chivas USA and Houston served up an ugly scoreless tie. San Jose’s goal drought continued. And Chicago pounded New England once again. For the weekend’s MLS developments …