This Week in MLS
Published on May 1, 2012 under Major League Soccer (MLS) News Release
While the New York Red Bulls lead the league in scoring with 18 goals in nine games, the club has also allowed 14 goals in that span, third-most across all MLS teams. On Saturday against New England, New York's backline of Brandon Barklage, Markus Holgersson, Tyler Ruthven and Connor Lade entered the game with 23 games of MLS experience combined. Rookie goalkeeper Ryan Meara came in with just seven MLS games under his belt and yet earned his first career MLS shutout.
This Saturday on ESPN and ESPN Deportes (8 p.m. ET), the young Red Bulls backline will face a team of veteran strikers that have proven to be potent attackers at every level of the game. The LA Galaxy attack features U.S. Men's National Team career scoring leader Landon Donovan, Ireland's all-time leading goal-scorer Robbie Keane, 2010 MLS Golden Boot runner up Edson Buddle and service from David Beckham (12 goals, 33 assists in 80 MLS games).
LA will be coming off a mid-week match against Seattle Sounders FC on Wednesday (MLS Direct Kick, 10 p.m. ET) while New York hopes to steal a result on the road and repay the team that ended their 2011 season.
MLS Week 9 - National Broadcasts
Friday, May 4: Chivas USA vs. Chicago Fire, 11 p.m. ET (ESPN Deportes)
Saturday, May 5: Seattle Sounders FC vs. Philadelphia Union, 4:30 p.m. ET (NBC Sports Network)
Saturday, May 5: LA Galaxy vs. New York Red Bulls, 8 p.m. ET (ESPN/Deportes)
Sunday, May 6: FC Dallas vs. Colorado Rapids, 7 p.m. ET (Galavision)
MLS Week 9 Previews
(Home team listed first; all times Eastern)
Wednesday, May 2
New England Revolution vs. Colorado Rapids, 8 p.m.
- The Pereira trio: New England's Fernando Cardenas, John Lozano, and Colorado's Luis Zapata were all teammates in 2009 on Colombian club Deportivo Pereira.
- Rookie contributions: Both clubs' first-round selections have seen some payoff already. Colorado's Tony Cascio and New England's Kelyn Rowe have already combined for three goals total this season, and the latter is currently leading his club in shots on goal.
- Looking for winning ways: The Revolution have lost three games in a row, and have lost 10 of their last 12 dating back to the end of last season, when they had a five-game losing streak from Sept. 16-Oct. 15.
Seattle Sounders FC vs. LA Galaxy, 10 p.m.
- Return of the Pat: LA Galaxy forward Pat Noonan will be playing against his former club for the first time since Seattle Sounders FC declined the option on his contract at the end of last season. Los Angeles selected Noonan in stage two of the 2011 MLS Re-Entry Draft.
- A Galaxy of honors: Between their collective stints with the Galaxy, current Seattle manager Sigi Schmid (with the LA Galaxy from April 1999 to August 2004) and current LA boss Bruce Arena amassed three Coach of the Year awards, five Western Conference titles, two MLS Cups, and a 134-79-63 record (.600).
San Jose Earthquakes vs. D.C. United, 10:30 p.m.
- What a Wondo-ful world: San Jose Earthquakes forward Chris Wondolowski has scored in 13 of his last 17 matches, a streak extending back to August 27th of last season.
- Top heavy versus spreading the wealth: Wondo is the only San Jose player to score more than two goals this season. Meanwhile, D.C. United's Maicon Santos, Chris Pontius, and Nick DeLeon all have tallied three or more already.
- Red and Black attack : D.C. United have won back-to-back games for the first time since June 2009.
Friday, May 4
Chivas USA vs. Chicago Fire, 11 p.m. (ESPN Deportes)
- Not-so-Home Depot Center: Chivas USA is still seeking their first home win of the season, and first since September 24, 2011 (0-5-1). The Goats have dropped their last four decisions at the HDC by a scoreline of 1-0.
- Grabbing the goat by the horns: Chicago has not lost to Chivas USA since June 19th, 2008, going 5-0-2 in that span. The Fire has outscored the SoCal side 14-7 in those games.
- Capable corner kick taker : Marco Pappa scored a stunning "gol olÃ-mpico" - directly from a corner kick - to pull back a late goal in the 2-1 loss at Seattle. It's the second goal directly from a corner in as many seasons in MLS: David Beckham scored one for LA last July 9 - ironically against Chicago.
Saturday, May 5
Toronto FC vs. D.C. United, 4:30 p.m.
- Slump buster needed: The last time Canadian midfielder and reigning MLS MVP Dwayne De Rosario faced off against his former Toronto FC side, he recorded a hat trick (8/6/2011) but, DeRo has found the back of the net just once this season in nine matches.
- Release and catch: Toronto FC goalkeeper Milos Kocic was released by D.C. United following the 2009 season after making only nine appearances for the black-and-red. Kocic was without a club for almost a year afterwards until TFC signed him in October 2010. The Serbian made his Toronto debut against his former club in a 3-2 victory, the only time he has faced them since being released.
- First worst: Toronto FC have matched the 1999 Kansas City Wizards with the worst start in MLS history, both losing their first seven games to open the season. The MLS record losing streak was set by the MetroStars: 12 games from July 4 to Sept. 5, 1999.
Seattle Sounders FC vs. Philadelphia Union, 4:30 p.m. (NBC Sports Network)
- Immovable object vs. a stoppable force: Seattle Sounders FC boasts the league's stingiest defense, allowing just three goals thus far. Philadelphia has only scored less than double that amount, and never more than once in a single match. However, their last multi-goal game, back on October 8 of last season, did come against Seattle.
- No Nowak: Philadelphia boss Peter Nowak will be serving the second and final game of his suspension for leaving the technical area and making contact with an opposing player from the April 21 match against Chivas USA. The Union lost 1-2 against the San Jose Earthquakes in Nowak's first absence on April 28.
Vancouver Whitecaps FC vs. San Jose Earthquakes, 7 p.m.
- Ready and waiting: While rookies on other squads have jumped right into key roles, Vancouver's Darren Mattocks (selected 2nd overall) and San Jose's Sam Garza (6th) have had to wait patiently on the bench, perhaps a sign of their clubs' early season success. The two top-ten picks have combined for just nine minutes of playing time so far this season.
- Quite the clip: San Jose's Chris Wondolowski has faced Vancouver Whitecaps FC three times in their short existence, and probably wishes they had been around longer. The striker has netted five goals already in those games, two last season and one this year in April.
- Clutch in OT: The Quakes have scored the game-winning goal in stoppage time in two consecutive games. It's the first time that's happened in MLS since D.C. United did it in back-to-back games in 2003, and just the third time overall in MLS history.
LA Galaxy vs. New York Red Bulls, 8 p.m. (ESPN)
- Duel of the greats: Since Thierry Henry joined the New York Red Bulls and Major League Soccer in 2010, he has scored twice in just three appearances against the LA Galaxy. David Beckham on the other hand has not had similar success against his side's big-market rivals, having never scored in eight appearances against the Red Bulls.
- Scary without Thierry: The Red Bulls are expected to be without Thierry Henry for 2-4 weeks after he suffered a hamstring injury shortly after scoring his league-leading ninth goal of the season for the 1-0 win against New England. New York will also be without Rafa Marquez who is serving a suspension for his actions in the Red Bulls game against San Jose on April 14.
- A (title) run for the money: These two teams feature the five highest paid players in Major League Soccer: David Beckham, Thierry Henry, Rafael Marquez, Robbie Keane, and Landon Donovan. Over their careers, these five have collected a combined 23 league titles across Major League Soccer, the English Premier League, Spain's La Liga, and France's Ligue 1.
Sporting Kansas City vs. Montreal Impact, 8:30 p.m.
- Fair trade for now: Davy Arnaud was traded to the Montreal Impact on draft day this past January for Seth Sinovic and allocation money after 10 seasons with Kansas City. So far both players have contributed positively in their new homes; Arnaud scored the first goal in Montreal Impact's MLS history on March 17, 2012 and Sinovic has played all but one minute of every SKC match, a vital cog in a defense that has allowed only three goals on the year.
- First Meeting Rematch: This is the first regular season meeting between Montreal and Sporting Kansas City, however, the two clubs met in a February pre-season tilt at the Disney Pro Soccer Classic in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. A Soony Saad strike in the 70th minute forced the two Eastern Conference foes to settle for a 1-1 draw.
- Old foes faceoff again: While this is the first time Montreal manager Jesse Marsch and Sporting KC's Peter Vermes have met on the sideline, the two are not unfamiliar with each other from their playing days in 1996-2002. Marsch holds a slight edge in the matchup, going 9-4-1 and collecting three goals in his time with D.C. United and Chicago Fire against Vermes' (a defender) Colorado Rapids and Kansas City Wizard teams.
Real Salt Lake vs. New England Revolution, 9 p.m.
- Solid to the core: Real Salt Lake's 10-player nucleus of Nick Rimando, Kyle Reynish, Chris Wingert, Kyle Beckerman, Javier Morales, Fabian Espindola, Tony Beltran, Nat Borchers, Jamison Olave and Will Johnson has remained unchanged since 2008. The group embodies the longest continually cohesive core in MLS history, besting New England's eight teammates who played together from 2003-2007.
- Bad luck in the Beehive State: New England is seeking their first win in the state of Utah since July 28, 2007. In those four and a half years, the Revs have gone 0-3-1 against RSL, being outscored 4-16 at the Rice-Eccles and Rio Tinto Stadiums.
- Blue Steele: Jonny Steele has scored two goals since coming to RSL - and both have been dramatic. He scored in the 89th minute to set up RSL's stoppage-time 3-2 win at Portland, and then he scored the game-winner in stoppage time in last weekend's 3-2 win against Toronto FC.
Portland Timbers vs. Columbus Crew, 10:30 p.m.
- Road woes: Already one of the most imposing environments in the league, the Timbers Army may not even need to be in top form to see their side achieve a good result against the Crew. Since 2010, Columbus is 2-12-4 with a -19 GD against current Western Conference opponents on the road.
- Copy cats: Columbus manager Robert Warzycha and Portland boss John Spencer have had strikingly similar career paths. Warzycha featured for the English Premier League's Everton FC from 1991-1994- Spencer joined the EPL a season later with Chelsea and would also make a stop at Everton in 1998. The managers were opponents again for the 2001 and 2002 MLS seasons with Columbus and Colorado, respectively. Warzycha took on an assistant coaching role with the Crew from 2003-08 before being made head man in 2009; Spencer did the same with Houston from 2006-2010 until the Timbers' hired him as skipper.
Sunday, May 6
FC Dallas vs. Colorado Rapids, 7 p.m. (Galavision)
- Brazilian brethren: FC Dallas' Ricardo Villar and recent Colorado signing Luis Edu both have ties to Brazilian soccer's largest and most successful club, Sao Paulo FC. Villar spent ten years in the youth system of the Tricolor Paulista before moving to the United States for college, while Edu began his professional career with the club, earning 11 appearances from 1997-2000.
- Blas-off: FC Dallas' big off-season signing has already been paying dividends. Panamanian striker Blas Perez has tallied three goals and three assists in his first seven matches in Major League Soccer, leading his team in both categories.
- PK Shea: Brek Shea has scored in each of the last two games - both goals coming on penalty kicks. He has scored the last three goals for FC Dallas.
Quotables
"To send one of our young players out there and he came back a better player, there's a real feeling at Tottenham Hotspur that the MLS is a credible league and we're looking forward to loaning [more] players to the league because it's good at helping young players develop their games."
-- Tottenham Hotspur Executive Director Darren Eales, to Goal.com, on loaning Simon Dawkins to the San Jose Earthquakes to Goal.com
"Losing the lead twice and then coming back shows a lot of spirit. There is something to this team. They've got a little bit of chutzpah."
-- D.C. United Head Coach Ben Olsen, to The Washington Post, on beating the Houston Dynamo to cap off the team's first back-to-back wins since June 2009
"I told him last night, "ËYou gave me your shirt, and I kept it.' I still have it at home. I [went] to school with the shirt, I [went] to church with the shirt, I even trained in it.''
-- New York Red Bull striker Saer Sene, to the Boston Globe, on playing with his soccer idol, Thierry Henry
"This is of course a disaster for us with his leadership. Every training session, he puts pressure on teammates to perform. Now he's out."
-- New York Red Bulls Head coach Hans Backe, to the New York Daily News, on Thierry Henry's hamstring injury
"I'm not going to say there's a disconnection, but I'll say we need to trust each other more."
-- Philadelphia Union striker Danny Mwanga, to CSNPhilly.com, on the Union needing to generate more offense
"I'll be honest with you. If any team has the choice of Robbie Keane and Landon Donovan, or Beckham, taking penalty kicks, you're real happy. The easiest thing to do is in the aftermath, then be critical, saying 'missed a kick.' There aren't any better players in the world to take penalties than Robbie Keane and Landon Donovan. We missed it tonight."
-- L.A. Galaxy Head coach Bruce Arena, to ESPNLosAngeles.com, on Robbie Keane's missed penalty kick against FC Dallas
"I'm not as good as the guy they named me after. I know a little bit of [the Koran], though, and I can read it."
-- Portland Timbers defender Mamadou Danso, to the Portland Tribune, on living up to his nickname, "Futty," a title of respect given to a man who deeply understands the Koran
Sweet Tweets
@Pele - April 25
I carry on because those few precious moments of pleasure from football mean more to me than anything else.
@JimmyConrad_com - April 25
About to tape an interview with the #1 NFL pick, Andrew Luck, who's dad, Oliver, used to run the Houston Dynamo.
@dcunited - April 26
VIDEO: Reigning MLS MVP @dwaynederosario welcomes Heisman Trophy winner RG3 to DC - http://bit.ly/Jqs3kv # MVPtoMVP # RG3toDC # NFLdraft
@dcunited - April 27
MT @WashWizards : # DCU 's @ChrisPontius13 presenting @John_Wall with a jersey after last night's # WizHeat game http://instagr.am/p/J7OBSNBIMv/
@GrantWahl - April 27
9 MLS games in a single day tomorrow. Can remember when there were 10 teams in the entire league.
@TaylorTwellman - April 28
Watching @PhilaUnion loving JP on the call with Rigby but more importantly Macmath with huge strides made since Week 3 # respect
@J_Klinsmann - April 28
Congratulations to Jeff Larentowicz for signing a new contract with @ColoradoRapids # USMNT
@KickTV - April 28
Thierry Henry is classy. Don't believe us, just watch his one touch goal. Yeah # classy http://bit.ly/IkJdSp
@SoccerByIves - April 28
Might need to find a cheap flight to San Jose. The Earthquakes-D.C. United match on Wednesday should be a thriller. Two red-hot teams.
@calencarr3 - April 29
Saw @theirishayk on our flight back to Houston this morning @bobbyboswell & @GeoffCameron were too busy watching Robert Pattinson to notice
@bobbyboswell - April 29
For all of those sending me messages, @calencarr3 didn't even come over when I was chattin w/ Robert Pattinson. He might be team Jacob...
@calencarr3 - April 29
I want to clear my name about these vicious rumors @bobbyboswell is spreading about me being # TeamJacob . Sorry bob there's only one Robert
Major League Soccer Stories from May 1, 2012
- Timbers U-23s to Host First U.S. Open Cup Match May 15 at Jeld-Wen - Portland Timbers
- Houston Dynamo, BBVA Compass Launch 'Building a Better Mind' at the Rusk School - Houston Dynamo FC
- Impact Faces Toronto FC Wednesday at Olympic Stadium - Club de Foot Montreal
- MLS Disciplinary Committee Fines Seattle Forward Eddie Johnson - MLS
- Houston Dynamo, Direct Energy Announce Partnership - Houston Dynamo FC
- Timbers Announce Formal Partnership with Oregon Premier League - Portland Timbers
- Whitecaps FC Start 2012 Amway Canadian Championship Campaign at FC Edmonton - Vancouver Whitecaps FC
- This Week in MLS - MLS
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
