MLS Major League Soccer

The Pitch: MLS Weekly Newsletter - August 25, 2008

Published on August 25, 2008 under Major League Soccer (MLS) News Release


- MLS Cup Playoff Race at a Glance

- This Week's MLS Matches

- East vs. West in the 2008 Regular Season

- Guillermo Barros Schelotto Wins Player of the Week for Week 22

- Speedy Magee

MLS Cup Playoff Race at a Glance

If the season ended today, last year's MLS Cup finalists Houston Dynamo (8-5-8, 32 points) and the New England Revolution (11-6-4, 37 points) would secure the top seeds in their respective conferences. While the Columbus Crew (11-6-4, 37 points) have the same record as New England, the Revolution own the head-to-head edge (1-0-0). The teams play each other twice in the final nine games (Sept. 6 at Columbus, Sept. 27 at New England).

The Chicago Fire (10-6-5, 35 points) would rank third in the Eastern Conference behind New England and Columbus, while Real Salt Lake (7-8-6, 27 points) would rank second in the Western Conference followed by FC Dallas (6-7-8, 26 points).

The final two playoff spots - wild cards determined by most points overall regardless of conference - would go to D.C. United (10-10-1, 31 points) and the New York Red Bulls (8-6-7, 31 points). The teams have split the season series and D.C. United holds the second tiebreaker (goal differential) so United would take the fourth playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. New York would earn the second wild card and shift over to the Western Conference as the fourth seed.

If the playoffs started today, Real Salt Lake would qualify for the playoffs for the first time in team history. The Galaxy (6-9-6, 24 points) would miss the playoffs for the third consecutive season, and two playoff teams from 2007 would be out - Chivas USA (6-9-6, 24 points) and the Kansas City Wizards (6-7-8, 26 points). Chivas USA, last season's Western Conference champion, sit in three-way tie for fourth place in the Western Conference, but all three teams currently trail in the wild card race.

Arguably the most important game to date for New York and D.C. United will take place on Saturday in Washington D.C. The clubs have split the season series with each team claiming a 4-1 win on their home turf. United currently rank ahead of the Red Bulls with a +2 goal differential (the second tiebreaker after head-to-head). The third and final regular season meeting could be the deciding factor if they finish the season tied in points.

But the season does not end today.

Each team has nine games left to secure one of eight spots before the MLS Cup Playoffs begin Oct. 30.

CURRENT MLS STANDINGS

INCLUDES GAMES OF SUNDAY, August 24, 2008

---------- OVERALL ----------- ---- HOME ---- ---- ROAD ----

Eastern GP W L T PTS GF GA GD W L T GF GA W L T GF GA

New England (1) 21 11 6 4 37 29 27 2 5 3 2 15 12 6 3 2 14 15

Columbus (2) 21 11 6 4 37 34 28 6 7 2 2 21 14 4 4 2 13 14

Chicago (3) 21 10 6 5 35 28 16 12 4 4 2 11 8 6 2 3 17 8

D.C. United (x) 21 10 10 1 31 36 34 2 8 3 0 28 13 2 7 1 8 21

New York (y) 21 8 6 7 31 28 28 0 7 1 3 20 10 1 5 4 8 18

Toronto FC 21 7 9 5 26 22 27 -5 5 1 5 11 5 2 8 0 11 22

Kansas City 21 6 7 8 26 22 28 -6 5 2 3 13 12 1 5 5 9 16

---------- OVERALL ----------- ---- HOME ---- ---- ROAD ----

Western GP W L T PTS GF GA GD W L T GF GA W L T GF GA

Houston (1) 21 8 5 8 32 29 25 4 6 1 3 20 11 2 4 5 9 14

Real Salt Lake (2) 21 7 8 6 27 25 27 -2 6 0 5 18 7 1 8 1 7 20

FC Dallas (3) 21 6 7 8 26 29 27 2 4 2 4 16 13 2 5 4 13 14

Colorado 21 7 11 3 24 29 30 -1 6 4 1 17 9 1 7 2 12 21

Los Angeles 21 6 9 6 24 40 43 -3 4 4 3 23 19 2 5 3 17 24

Chivas USA 21 6 9 6 24 26 31 -5 5 3 3 15 10 1 6 3 11 21

San Jose 21 5 9 7 22 19 25 -6 3 3 3 13 12 2 6 4 6 13

X - D.C. United currently hold first wildcard and remains in Eastern Conference

Y - New York Red Bulls currently hold second wildcard and switch to Western Conference

Highlighted teams currently out of the playoffs

MLS Week 23: August 29-31, 2008

(All times Eastern)

Friday, August 29

Colorado Rapids at Real Salt Lake, 9:00 p.m. (DK, MLSLIVE.tv)

- This is the lone Rocky Mountain rivalry match played at Rice-Eccles Stadium this season. The teams will meet once more in the season finale for both teams on Oct. 15 at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.

- Colorado beat RSL, 2-0, on May 15 on second-half goals by Omar Cummings and Christian Gomez. The latter has not started consecutive matches.

- Real Salt Lake is the only MLS team with an unbeaten record at home (6-0-5) this season.

Saturday, August 30

Los Angeles Galaxy at New England Revolution, 7:30 p.m. (HDNet, DK, MLSLIVE.tv)

- Seeking his first win as Galaxy coach, Bruce Arena should have his full attacking arsenal available. David Beckham, Landon Donovan and Eddie Lewis are all back from international duty.

- In goals per game, Taylor Twellman is tied with Juan Pablo Angel for fourth in MLS behind Kenny Cooper (0.62), Edson Buddle (0.67) and Landon Donovan (0.82). Twellman has four goals in seven games this season.

- In 2002, the Galaxy defeated the Revolution to win their first MLS Cup in the first game at Gillette Stadium. Of those who played in that game, only Pete Vagenas remains with LA while Jay Heaps, Steve Ralston and Taylor Twellman remain with New England. Chris Albright, who assisted on Carlos Ruiz's winning goal for LA, now plays for New England.

New York Red Bulls at D.C. United, 7:30 p.m. (FSC, FSE)

If NY and D.C. finish the season tied on points as they are now, this game will prove crucial because they split the first two games this season and head-to-head records are the first tiebreaker. Red Bulls forward and midfielder Juan Pablo Angel and Mike Magee both bring three-game scoring streaks into this match. New York is unbeaten in its past five games (3-0-2).

Columbus Crew at FC Dallas, 9:00 p.m. (DK, MLSLIVE.tv)

This game falls exactly two weeks after Columbus used goals from Brian Carroll and Brad Evans to overcome Jeff Cunningham's first tally in an FC Dallas uniform to win 2-1 at Crew Stadium. Nigerian Emmanuel Ekpo, the first MLS player to win an Olympic medal, rejoins the Crew for this match. Ekpo and Nigeria captured the silver medal, losing 1-0 to Argentina in the final. FC Dallas midfielder Andre Rocha's first MLS goal was a dipping, 40-yard rocket against Kansas City. Along with his six assists, the goal helps Rocha's candidacy for MLS Newcomer of the Year Award.

Kansas City Wizards at San Jose Earthquakes, 10:00 p.m., (DK, MLSLIVE.tv)

This is the first of two meetings between these teams; the second is Oct. 18 in Kansas City. San Jose is riding a seven-game unbeaten streak (3-0-4), led by flankers Ronnie O'Brien and Darren Huckerby. Kansas City defender Jimmy Conrad's stoppage-time goal moved him back into his team's lead with five goals. Conrad's previous season high was four goals in 2003.

Toronto FC at Chivas USA 10:30 p.m., (DK, MLSLIVE.tv)

Toronto midfielder Amado Guevara faces his previous team for the first time since being released by Chivas USA Coach Preki in 2007 after playing just four games. Chivas USA forward Alecko Eskandarian also will play against a former club, Toronto FC, where he played just six games in 2007, scoring one goal. This opens a rare home-and-home series in the MLS regular season with the second "leg" coming Sept.6 in Toronto. No aggregate goals, though.

Sunday, August 31

Chicago Fire at Houston Dynamo 7:00 p.m., (DK, MLSLIVE.tv)

Chicago has the best road record in MLS (6-2-3) and is tied for the worst home record (4-4-2). Houston had its unbeaten streak halted at seven games on Saturday in New York and was shut out after scoring eight goals in its previous two games. The Fire's Jon Busch leads MLS in several goalkeeping statistics, including goals-against average (0.76), saves (98), save percentage (86.0) and shutouts (9).

East vs. West During the 2008 Regular Season

This week includes five inter-conference matches. So far this season, Eastern Conference teams hold a significant advantage with a 35-22-12 record against Western Conference teams. The Eastern Conference has outscored the Western Conference 93-82 in head-to-head games.

Guillermo Barros Schelotto Wins MLS Player of the Week Award

Columbus Crew midfielder Guillermo Barros Schelotto was voted Major League Soccer's Player of the Week for Week 22 of the 2008 season. Schelotto scored one goal and tallied two assists in the Crew's 3-0 victory over Real Salt Lake at Columbus Crew Stadium on Saturday. The win improved Columbus' record to 11-6-4 (37 points), moving them into a first-place tie with the New England Revolution atop the Eastern Conference.

Schelotto leads the League with 14 assists, which equals the total last season's leader, Steve Ralston, recorded. Schelotto has played in and started all 21 games for Columbus this season. He's equaled his goal tally from 2007 and has recorded three more assists than in 2007 when he played in 22 games, starting 19.

This is Schelotto's third Player of the Week award this season, and the fifth of his career. He previously won the award in Week 17 when he tallied a goal and two assists in the Crew's 3-3 tie against Kansas City. Columbus (11-6-4) returns to action on Saturday, Aug. 30 when they travel to Pizza Hut Park to play FC Dallas at 9 p.m. ET. For more on Schelotto's Player of the Week honor click here.

The Major League Soccer Player of the Week is selected each week of the MLS regular season by a panel of journalists from The North American Soccer Reporters (NASR). The group consists of members of print, television, radio and online media. More information and membership information can be found at http://www.soccerreporters.com/.

Red Bulls "Speedy" Magee Plays Key Role in Five-Game Unbeaten Streak

It wasn't that long ago that the Red Bulls' Mike Magee was called into U.S. national team camp and searching for his first cap with the senior team. It was late 2004 and Magee, who scored seven goals as an 18-year-old rookie in 2003, was a promising young player and a fixture in his club's lineup. However, knee injuries derailed his career, limiting his playing time in 2006 and 2007, including just seven matches last year. After starting slowly in 2008 while still recovering from his knee injury, Magee has caught fire recently while scoring in each of the Red Bulls last three matches and playing a key role in the club's five-game unbeaten streak. Magee, whose three game-winning goals are just one behind the league lead, hopes to continue his hot streak against D.C. United on Saturday prior to celebrating his 24th birthday on September 2. Because of two of his recent goals were scored on breakaways, some observers have dubbed him "Speedy" Magee - an ironic nickname since, as he told reporters Sunday, "I'm the slowest guy out there, I swear."

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